W32.Sejese

SUMMARY

W32.Sejese is a worm that propagates via MSN Messenger, lowers security settings, and deletes files from the compromised computer.

Note: Definitions dated prior to June 1, 2006 may detect this threat as W32.Jesse.

Protection

• Virus Definitions (LiveUpdate™ Daily) May 26, 2006
• Virus Definitions (LiveUpdate™ Weekly) May 31, 2006
• Virus Definitions (Intelligent Updater) May 26, 2006
• Virus Definitions (LiveUpdate™ Plus) May 26, 2006

Threat Assessment

Wild

• Wild Level: Low
• Number of Infections: 0 - 49
• Number of Sites: 0 - 2
• Geographical Distribution: Low
• Threat Containment: Easy
• Removal: Easy

Damage

• Damage Level: Medium
• Deletes Files: Deletes files from the A and C drives.
• Compromises Security Settings: Ends security-related processes.

Distribution

• Distribution Level: Medium

TECHNICAL DETAILS

Once executed, W32.Sejese performs the following actions:

1. Copies itself as %System%driversetcjesse.exe.
   
   Note: %System% is a variable that refers to the System folder. By default this is C:WindowsSystem (Windows 95/98/Me), C:WinntSystem32 (Windows NT/2000), or C:WindowsSystem32 (Windows XP).
   
   
2. Searches for all files in the root folder of the A and C drives.
   
   
3. For each file found, the worm creates a copy of itself as [EXISTING FILE NAME].exe and deletes the original file.
   
   For example, if "C:autoexec.bat" is found, the worm will copy itself as "C:autoexec.bat.exe" and will delete C:autoexec.bat.
   
   
4. Creates the following files:
   
   
   • A:Autor.txt
   • C:Autor.txt
     
     
5. Creates the following files:
   
   
   • %System%Antlist.bat
   • %System%win_nt.bat
   • %System%systemwork.bat
     
     
6. Modifies the value:
   
   "DisableTaskMgr" = "1"
   
   in the registry subkey:
   
   HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesSystem
   
   to disables the Task Manager:
   
   
7. Adds the value:
   
   "a" = "%System%driversetcjesse.exe"
   
   to the registry subkey:
   
   HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun
   
   so that it is executed every time Windows starts.
   
   
8. Adds the value:
   
   "nday" = "[DAY OF THE MONTH]"
   
   to the registry subkey:
   
   HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareVB and VBA Program Settingsday umber
   
   
9. Adds the value:
   
   "virus" = "infectado"
   
   to the registry subkey:
   
   HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareVB and VBA Program Settingsokjessy
   
   
10. Lowers security settings by ending the following processes:
    
    
    • _AVPCC
    • ACKWIN32
    • AD-AWARE
    • ADMINTOOL
    • ADVXDWIN
    • AGENTA
    • AGENTSVR
    • ALERTSVC
    • ALOGSERV
    • AMON9X
    • ANTI-TROJAN
    • ANTITROJ
    • ANTIVIRUS
    • APIMONITOR
    • APLICA32
    • APVXDWIN
    • ASHDISP
    • ASHQUICK
    • ATGUARD
    • ATRO55EN
    • ATUPDATER
    • ATWATCH
    • AUTODOWN
    • AUTOTRACE
    • AVCONSOL
    • AVENGINE
    • AVGCC32
    • AVGCTRL
    • AVGSERV
    • AVGSERV9
    • AVGUARD
    • AVKPOP
    • AVKSERV
    • AVKSERVICE
    • AVKWCTL
    • AVKWCTL9
    • AVSCHED32
    • AVSYNMGR
    • AVWINNT
    • AVXGUI
    • AVXLIVE
    • AVXMONITOR9X
    • AVXMONITORNT
    • AVXQUAR
    • BD_PROFESSIONAL
    • BIDSERVER
    • BLACKD
    • BLACKICE
    • BOOTSCAN
    • BOOTWARN
    • CCEVTMGR
    • CFGINTPR
    • CFGWIZ
    • CFIADMIN
    • CFIAUDIT
    • CFINET
    • CFINET32
    • CLAW95
    • CLAW95CF
    • CLEANER
    • CLEANER3
    • CLEANPC
    • CMGRDIAN
    • CMON016
    • CONNECTIONMONITOR
    • CPFNT206
    • CWNB181
    • CWNTDWMO
    • DEFSCANGUI
    • DEFWATCH
    • DEPUTY
    • DPATROL
    • DRWEB32
    • DRWEBSCD
    • ECENGINE
    • EFPEADM
    • ESCANH95
    • ESCANHNT
    • ESCANV95
    • ESPWATCH
    • ETRUSTCIPE
    • EXANTIVIRUS-CNET
    • EXPERT
    • F-AGNT95
    • F-PROT
    • F-PROT95
    • F-STOPW
    • FAMEH32
    • FINDVIRU
    • FIREWALL
    • FLOWPROTECTOR
    • FNRB32
    • FP-WIN
    • FSAV32
    • FSAV530STBYB
    • FSAVSTRT
    • FSGK32
    • FSMA32
    • FSMB32
    • GBMENU
    • GBPOLL
    • GENERICS
    • GLADIATOR
    • GUARDDOG
    • GUARDER
    • HACKERELIMINATOR
    • HACKTRACERSETUP
    • IAMAPP
    • IAMSERV
    • IAMSTATS
    • IBMASN
    • IBMAVSP
    • ICLOAD95
    • ICLOADNT
    • ICSUPP95
    • ICSUPPNT
    • IOMON98
    • IPARMOR
    • ISRV95
    • JAMMER
    • KAVLITE40ENG
    • MCVSSHLD
    • MFW2EN
    • MGAVRTCL
    • MGAVRTE
    • MGHTML
    • MGUTIL
    • MINILOG
    • MONITOR
    • MOOLIVE
    • MPFTRAY
    • MSSMMC32
    • MWATCH
    • N32SCANW
    • NAVAPSVC
    • NAVAPW32
    • NAVLU32
    • NAVSTUB
    • NAVW32
    • NAVWNT
    • NEOWATCHLOG
    • NEOWATCHTRAY
    • NETARMOR
    • NETINFO
    • NETMON
    • NETSCANPRO
    • NETSPYHUNTER-1.2
    • NETUTILS
    • NISSERV
    • NORMIST
    • NPFMESSENGER
    • NPSSVC
    • NSCHED32
    • NTRTSCAN
    • NTXCONFIG
    • NVARCH16
    • NWSERVICE
    • NWTOOL16
    • OSTRONET
    • OUTPOST
    • PADMIN
    • PANIXK
    • PAVFIRES
    • PAVPROXY
    • PAVSRV51
    • PCCCLIENT
    • PCCGUIDE
    • PCCIOMON
    • PCCNTMON
    • PCCPFW
    • PCCWIN97
    • PCCWIN98
    • PCFWALLICON
    • PCSCAN
    • PERISCOPE
    • PERSFW
    • PFWADMIN
    • PINGSCAN
    • PLATIN
    • POP3TRAP
    • POPROXY
    • PORTDETECTIVE
    • PORTMONITOR
    • PPVSTOP
    • PRAZNA
    • PROCMAN
    • PROGRAMAUDITOR
    • PROPORT
    • PROTECTX
    • PVIEW95
    • QCONSOLE
    • QSERVER
    • QTTASK
    • RAPAPP
    • RAV7WIN
    • RAV8WIN32ENG
    • RAVMON
    • RAVWIN8
    • REALMON
    • RMVTRJAN
    • RRGUARD
    • RSHELL
    • RTVSCN95
    • RULAUNCH
    • SAFEWEB
    • SBSERV
    • SCAN32
    • SCANPM
    • SCRSCAN
    • SGSSFW32
    • SPHINX
    • SS3EDIT
    • SUPFTRL
    • SUPPORTER5
    • SWEEP95
    • SWNETSUP
    • SYMPROXYSVC
    • TASKALERT
    • TAUMON
    • TAUSCAN
    • TBSCAN
    • TDS2-NT
    • THGUARD
    • TITANIN
    • TITANINXP
    • TRJSCAN
    • TROJAN
    • TROJANHUNTER
    • TROJANTRAP3
    • TUCONF
    • TWEAK-XP
    • UMXAGENT
    • UMXLDRA
    • V530WTBYB
    • VBCMSERV
    • VBCONS
    • VBWIN9X
    • VBWINNTW
    • VETTRAY
    • VIR-HELP
    • VNLAN300
    • VPFW30S
    • VPTR AY
    • VPTRAY
    • VSCAN40
    • VSCHED
    • VSECOMR
    • VSHWIN32
    • VSMAIN
    • VSSTAT
    • WATCHDOG
    • WATCHER
    • WEBSCANX
    • WEBTRAP
    • WFINDV32
    • WGFE95
    • WIMMUN32
    • WINGATE
    • WINRECON
    • WINROUTE
    • WRADMIN
    • WRCTRL
    • WSBGATE
    • XCOMMSVR
    • XPF202EN
    • ZATUTOR
    • ZAUINST
    • ZONALM2601
      
      
11. Tries to close any window that has the following titles:
    
    
    • Administrador de tareas de Windows
    • Panel de control
    • Editor del Registro
    • Utilidad de configuracin del sistema
    • Restaurar sistema
      
      Note: These windows may relate to the Task Manager, Control panel, Registry Editor, System Configuration Utility, and System Restore.
      
      
12. Displays one of the following message boxes:
    
    Title: PROMOCION TELCEL
    Message:
    Tu mensage se ha enviado, el mensage llegara dentro de los proximos 10 minutos, puedes distribuir esta promocion enviando este software de promocion por e-mail a tus contactos.
    
    or:
    
    Title: Protection
    Message:
    Virus removido satisfactoriamente
    
    
13. Locks MSN Instant Messenger windows and prevents the user from accessing them.
    
    
14. Sends one of the following messages to the contact of the locked window.
    
    
    • jaja look a that video [http://]www.ideastelcel[REMOVED]
    • mira este video [http://]www.ideastelcel[REMOVED] jaja
      
      Note: If the recipient clicks on the link in the message, they will be asked to download the file videosexy.zip. This file contains the file Videosexy.avi.exe, which is a copy of the worm.
      
      
15. Attempts to delete the following registry subkeys:
    
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINEsoftwaremicrosoft
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINEhardware
    HKEY_CURRENT_USERsoftwaremicrosoft
    HKEY_CURRENT_USERhardware
    
    
16. Restarts the computer.
    
    Note: As the worm deletes all files present in the root folder of the C drive, the operating system may be unable to restart.

Recommendations

Symantec Security Response encourages all users and administrators to adhere to the following basic security "best practices":

• Turn off and remove unneeded services. By default, many operating systems install auxiliary services that are not critical, such as an FTP server, telnet, and a Web server. These services are avenues of attack. If they are removed, blended threats have less avenues of attack and you have fewer services to maintain through patch updates.
• If a blended threat exploits one or more network services, disable, or block access to, those services until a patch is applied.
• Always keep your patch levels up-to-date, especially on computers that host public services and are accessible through the firewall, such as HTTP, FTP, mail, and DNS services (for example, all Windows-based computers should have the current Service Pack installed.). Additionally, please apply any security updates that are mentioned in this writeup, in trusted Security Bulletins, or on vendor Web sites.
• Enforce a password policy. Complex passwords make it difficult to crack password files on compromised computers. This helps to prevent or limit damage when a computer is compromised.
• Configure your email server to block or remove email that contains file attachments that are commonly used to spread viruses, such as .vbs, .bat, .exe, .pif and .scr files.
• Isolate infected computers quickly to prevent further compromising your organization. Perform a forensic analysis and restore the computers using trusted media.
• Train employees not to open attachments unless they are expecting them. Also, do not execute software that is downloaded from the Internet unless it has been scanned for viruses. Simply visiting a compromised Web site can cause infection if certain browser vulnerabilities are not patched.

REMOVAL

The following instructions pertain to all current and recent Symantec antivirus products, including the Symantec AntiVirus and Norton AntiVirus product lines.

1. Restart the computer using the Windows Recovery Console.
2. Disable System Restore (Windows Me/XP).
3. Update the virus definitions.
4. Run a full system scan.
5. Delete any values added to the registry.
   

For specific details on each of these steps, read the following instructions.

1. To restart the computer using the Windows Recovery Console
To remove this threat it is necessary to restart the computer and run the Windows Recovery Console. For full details on how to do this please read the Microsoft Knowledge Base article, How to install and use the Recovery Console in Windows XP.

1. Insert the Windows XP CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive.
2. Restart the computer from the CD-ROM drive.
3. Press R to start the Recovery Console when the "Welcome to Setup" screen appears.
4. Select the installation that you want to access from the Recovery Console.
5. Enter the administrator password and press Enter.
6. Type cd system32driversetc
7. Press Enter
8. Type del jesse.exe
9. Press Enter
10. Navigate to the I386 folder in the Windows XP CD-ROM. Usually this folderis located in [X]:I386, where [X] is the character representing your cd-rom drive
11. Type copy ntldr %Systemdrive%:
12. Press Enter
13. Type copy ntdetect.com %Systemdrive%:
14. Press Enter
15. Type exit
16. Press Enter. The computer will now restart automatically.

2. To disable System Restore (Windows Me/XP)
If you are running Windows Me or Windows XP, we recommend that you temporarily turn off System Restore. Windows Me/XP uses this feature, which is enabled by default, to restore the files on your computer in case they become damaged. If a virus, worm, or Trojan infects a computer, System Restore may back up the virus, worm, or Trojan on the computer.

Windows prevents outside programs, including antivirus programs, from modifying System Restore. Therefore, antivirus programs or tools cannot remove threats in the System Restore folder. As a result, System Restore has the potential of restoring an infected file on your computer, even after you have cleaned the infected files from all the other locations.

Also, a virus scan may detect a threat in the System Restore folder even though you have removed the threat.

For instructions on how to turn off System Restore, read your Windows documentation, or one of the following articles:

• How to disable or enable Windows Me System Restore
• How to turn off or turn on Windows XP System Restore

Note: When you are completely finished with the removal procedure and are satisfied that the threat has been removed, reenable System Restore by following the instructions in the aforementioned documents.

For additional information, and an alternative to disabling Windows Me System Restore, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base article: Antivirus Tools Cannot Clean Infected Files in the _Restore Folder (Article ID: Q263455).

3. To update the virus definitions
Symantec Security Response fully tests all the virus definitions for quality assurance before they are posted to our servers. There are two ways to obtain the most recent virus definitions:

• Running LiveUpdate, which is the easiest way to obtain virus definitions:
  • If you use Norton AntiVirus 2006, Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 10.0, or newer products, LiveUpdate definitions are updated daily. These products include newer technology.
  • If you use Norton AntiVirus 2005, Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition 9.0, or earlier products, LiveUpdate definitions are updated weekly. The exception is major outbreaks, when definitions are updated more often.
• Downloading the definitions using the Intelligent Updater: The Intelligent Updater virus definitions are posted daily. You should download the definitions from the Symantec Security Response Web site and manually install them. To determine whether definitions for this threat are available by the Intelligent Updater, refer to Virus Definitions (Intelligent Updater).
  
  The latest Intelligent Updater virus definitions can be obtained here: Intelligent Updater virus definitions. For detailed instructions read the document: How to update virus definition files using the Intelligent Updater.

4. To run a full system scan

1. Start your Symantec antivirus program and make sure that it is configured to scan all the files.
   • For Norton AntiVirus consumer products: Read the document: How to configure Norton AntiVirus to scan all files.
   • For Symantec AntiVirus Enterprise products: Read the document: How to verify that a Symantec Corporate antivirus product is set to scan all files.
2. Run a full system scan.
3. If any files are detected, follow the instructions displayed by your antivirus program.

Important: If you are unable to start your Symantec antivirus product or the product reports that it cannot delete a detected file, you may need to stop the risk from running in order to remove it. To do this, run the scan in Safe mode. For instructions, read the document, How to start the computer in Safe Mode. Once you have restarted in Safe mode, run the scan again.

After the files are deleted, restart the computer in Normal mode and proceed with the next section.

Warning messages may be displayed when the computer is restarted, since the threat may not be fully removed at this point. You can ignore these messages and click OK. These messages will not appear when the computer is restarted after the removal instructions have been fully completed. The messages displayed may be similar to the following:

Title: [FILE PATH]
Message body: Windows cannot find [FILE NAME]. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again. To search for a file, click the Start button, and then click Search.


5. To delete the value from the registry
Important: Symantec strongly recommends that you back up the registry before making any changes to it. Incorrect changes to the registry can result in permanent data loss or corrupted files. Modify the specified subkeys only. For instructions refer to the document: How to make a backup of the Windows registry.

1. Click Start > Run.
2. Type regedit
3. Click OK.
   
   Note: If the registry editor fails to open the threat may have modified the registry to prevent access to the registry editor. Security Response has developed a tool to resolve this problem. Download and run this tool, and then continue with the removal.
   
   
4. Navigate to the subkey:
   
   HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareVB and VBA Program Settingsokjessy
   
   
5. In the right pane, delete the value:
   
   "virus" = "infectado"
   
   
6. Navigate to the subkey:
   
   HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun
   
   
7. In the right pane, delete the value:
   
   "a" = "%System%driversetcjesse.exe"
   
   
8. Navigate to the subkey:
   
   HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareVB and VBA Program Settingsday umber
   
   
9. In the right pane, delete the value:
   
   "nday" = "[DAY OF THE MONTH]"
   
   
10. Navigate to the subkey:
    
    HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesSystem
    
    
11. In the right pane, reset the value:
    
    "DisableTaskMgr" = "1"
    
    
12. Exit the Registry Editor.